Monday, October 8, 2012

Guest Blogger Mystical Press

Good morning one and all and happy Monday! Today please welcome AJ and Arial of Mystical Press to Full Moon Dreaming! Have you ever wondered if there was some secret to getting published? Well, today you're going to learn five of them! So sit back and relax and enjoy!

A special thank you to Julie for having us as her guest
today. She was very gracious to squeeze us in on her
calendar! Mwah!

5 Secrets to Increase Your Chances of Getting Published

As authors-turned-editors, we’ve learned a number of truths
we wish we’d known when we were authors. Though this article is based on our
own experiences as small press editors, many of our colleagues—Big 6
included—wholeheartedly agree with the following points.

However,
not many of them are willing to share such information. They vehemently shake
their heads and exclaim, “No! Don’t tell an author THAT!” When we ask why, they
usually stare at us as if we’re daft. “Just don’t!” (AJ & Arial lean in… “Pssst!We’re going to reveal some of those secrets.
Don’t tell anyone or we’ll be in big trouble!Shhh!”)

Secret #1—Editors Are NOT Rich

As authors, we thought all editors were paid via salary. At
a minimum, we assumed they were paid a large chunk of money per book when the manuscript
was contracted. Then we became editors—GASP!

Most editors with publishing houses either get paid
royalties—meaning they ONLY get paid IF the book sells—or a small flat fee
based on word count. Example: a 30,000-word manuscript x 1¢ per word = $300…but
the editor usually spends anywhere from 40-50 hours to put out a quality
product. You do the math. We’re talking less than minimum wage. And though we
editors may have anywhere from 5-50 authors under our belt, we’re usually only
working on 2-5 manuscripts at a time due to our many other duties (See AJ’s
article “Waiting
For Edits… Tick… Tock…”).

So what’s the big secret that affects you? This is a KEY
factor in getting your manuscript contracted and why it’s #1 on the list. The
less time an editor spends on a manuscript, the more bang she gets for her
buck. Editors are looking for stories that are clean, easy to edit, and
worth spending time on. Remember…your job as an author is to learn your craft. Which
brings us to the next secret…

Secret #2—They Don’t Call It the Slush Pile for Nothing

MOST of the manuscripts that come across our desks are CRAP!
We are not kidding and this was a
surprise to us, too. And we’re not just talking about the book. We’re talking query
letter to synopsis to finished manuscript.

So how
do you seriously stick out amongst the kah-kah and craft something
sparkly clean? KNOW YOUR CRAFT! We cannot stress this enough. Never stop
studying the craft of writing and find a good critique partner who will be brutally
honest with you. And we’ll share two bonus secrets—the two biggest trouble
spots in 99% of manuscripts submitted to us are show versus tell and unrealistic
characters.

Herein lies the rub: If authors are getting form-letter
rejections, how do they know what (or how) to fix their manuscripts? That’s
where we come in. We have three classes that will help you overcome the above
issues AND you will have one-on-one interaction with an editor to learn
what you’re doing wrong—not just in these but in other areas, as well: Show versus Tell (SVT) Class Series,
Crafting Believable Characters (CBC)
Class Series (coming this fall/winter), and How to Write a WINNING Synopsis
Power Class. If you’ve never been published, then this valuable interaction
with an editor will shave DECADES off your learning curve. No joke.

Secret #3—We Are NOT Looking for an Excuse to Stop Reading

Several agents seem to give this same advice to authors. “Editors
are looking for any excuse to stop
reading. Your job is to not give them ANY excuses.” Though we clung to those
words as if our life depended on it as authors, we were really offended to hear this as editors. We imagined an editor
reading a query letter, getting to the part that didn’t appeal to her and
collapsing back in her chair. “Oh thank GOD I can stop reading!” WRONG!

Editors are NOT looking for any excuse to stop reading. We
are BEGGING to find a good story! (Refer to Secret #2) We’re on your side! We WANT to find characters to
fall in love with and worlds we can escape to and storylines that will keep us
up all night, wildly flipping pages, dying to know what happens next! We don’t
do this job because of the money (refer to Secret #1). We’re editors because we
love to read and we love stories.

Now…for the next secret you should sit down. This is going
to be quite a shock.

Secret #4—Editors are NOT Gods

We’ll give you a moment to recover. (AJ and Arial pat your hand empathetically.) You okay now? Good.
Editors are human beings just like authors so do not put them on a pedestal.

There
are indeed some editors who enjoy the “Deity” status and therefore abuse the
power. Yes, we are the gate keepers of your manuscript, but in all honestly
there are editors out there who don’t know their tushies from a hole in the
ground. We were surprised to find out how many editors—Big 6 or otherwise—really
don’t know their job well enough to do it properly and consequently we cringe
at some of the stuff we read. And make no mistake—we’re learning more every
day, so we’re not perfect either. This is why it’s important to know your
craft…so you know what to defend in your manuscript and can have an educated
discussion with your editor when she suggests a change you feel is wrong.

Authors are not dogs at the table, scrambling for scraps any
publisher is willing to throw to the ground…even though that’s what publishing
houses might want you to think. Why?
If you think you are one of the very few select authors granted a rare audience
through the pearly gates of publishing, you will value the tiny royalties you
are paid.

Secret #5—You Can Afford to be Picky

Do NOT settle for any publisher. Thanks to the digital
explosion, the publishing industry is now in the hands of authors and readers.
We’re about to reveal a dark secret that will probably get us black listed—but we
are authors first, editors last.

Because of self-publishing, publishers are losing talent left and right. True dat! Publishers’
release schedules are growing thin. Some editors are being hassled by their
bosses for content, content, content! And they’re publishing almost anything. Contracts
are getting tougher to get out of because publishers don’t want authors self-publishing
their novels.

You’re not off the hook, though. Editors are still trying to
find the best talent. They still want a good and easy-to-edit story and they’re
asking for short projects. Why? Because
publishers get paid faster on short edits. Easier to produce and cheaper to
sell. This means two things for us authors:

1.Choose publishers who appeal to you the
most—beautiful covers, good quality products, and books that are high on the
ranking lists with distributors. Do your research! Amazon.com and Barnes &
Noble will let you download samples of any book to your eReader.

2.Shorter projects will not only increase your
chances of getting published, you’ll be publishing more, thereby getting more
stories under your belt.

You’re Not Alone

Mystical
Press Services primary goal is to help authors bridge the gap between the
form-letter rejection and publication. Through our services and classes, we
will coach you—one-on-one—through the problem spots in your manuscript. ALL
customers receive a FREE consultation on their work and we’ll help you pinpoint
what needs improvement.

If you visit our site, be sure to tell us this blog article
referred you so your hostess will be recognized.

Prizes!!!

We want your feedback. What surprises, if any, did this
article have for you? How do you think knowing this information will change
your writing or the way you submit to publishers? Are you motivated to
self-publish? Why or why not? Or do you think we’re just full of hooey? Please
be honest. We encourage you to share some of your experiences with rejection
letters, self-publishing or the publishing industry. OR if you have any
questions, ask away! If you leave a comment or question, we’ll enter you in a
drawing for a $25 eGift good toward any services or classes at our website.
Good luck and thanks for participating!

Editor Bios

Mystical Press is the culmination of two authors and
professionally trained editors—Arial Burnz and AJ Nuest—who help authors bridge
the gap between the form rejection letter and publication. In fact, we believe
in this venture so passionately, our tagline is “Helping authors achieve their dreams.” Come dream with us!

Wow, you've certainly given us a lot to think about! Thanks for stopping by! Come back again soon, will you?

2 comments:

Hi Julie! Thank you so much for hosting us today! It's fantastic to be at your beautiful blog! Whoot! Arial and I will be here all day to field any questions, but as you can probably tell from our post, WE LOVE FEEDBACK! Hearing from authors is the best way for US to help YOU get published. :-) Don't hesitate to leave a comment or head on over to Mystical Press to check out our exciting doings. We have lots of fun over there and are already ready to chat! (((hugs)))